The Advocate: Death Penalty Deters Crime? Facts and Most Criminologists Beg to Differ

Michael L. Radelet and The Promise of Justice Initiative’s Ben Cohen weigh in on the failure of using the death penalty as a deterrent in The Advocate. 

The article sums up how capital punishment has failed in Louisiana according to 95% of criminologists. 

“Not only is Louisiana’s death penalty expensive, it is particularly error-prone. As Frank Baumgartner and others have noted, some 82 percent of Louisiana death sentences imposed since 1976 have been reversed. And with last month’s exoneration of Rodricus Crawford, 11 individuals sentenced to death in Louisiana have been released from prison without any charges whatsoever. By any measure, Louisiana taxpayers are getting scammed.”